Not So Fun Friday

The day seemed promising.  Slept through the night and woke up to a beautiful spring morning here in Tennessee.  Daddy decided to take me on a morning walk which I was thrilled about. It was such a pretty morning for a stroll with my daddy.

But then I noticed that I started to feel the need to pee every so many feet that we walked.  Daddy kept saying, "you are peeing nothing but air Maude."  I just felt like I needed to go.  Daddy got me back home and the feeling didn't stop.  I ran to the back door and let out a few whimpers to let daddy know that I still felt like I needed to go.  I would walk and squat, walk and squat, walk and squat.  My actions seemed to alarm daddy because I heard him on the telephone talking to someone about me.  Next thing I knew, I was in the car and headed back to that place where I seem to get poked and prodded every time I show up.

Dr McDreamy came in again and asked daddy a few questions, stuck something up my butt and said I would have to stay until I peed so they could test my piddle.  Daddy looked very sad and I was too because I have not been taken from them since they got me a few weeks ago and I was unsure of what was going on.  He kissed me on the nose to say bye bye, but then I heard daddy say..."maybe she will pee right away so can I stay to see if she does?"  He loves me very much.  They took me outside and I knew what I had to do, I sniffed to find that right spot and gave them what they wanted.  You should have seen his face when they brought me back inside and let daddy know that I had peed.  They told daddy to wait a few minutes while they tested my pee pee sample.

It did not take long before Dr McDreamy came back in and told daddy that I had a pretty bad bladder infection.  Daddy and he and exchanged a few questions and answers and then they took me back and stuck a needle in me and then sent us home with this very strange bottle full of these funny looking things.  Next thing I know...mommy and daddy are shoving one of those things down the back of my throat.  I was able to avert swallowing it the first time, but then mommy got more determined and shoved practically her whole fist in my mouth forcing that ill-tasting thing down my throat until I was forced to swallow it.

Needless to say that those things have an effect on me because I felt very sleepy most of the day.  Whatever a bladder infection is...I don't like having it and I can tell by the looks of sadness that mommy and daddy don't like me having it either.  But boy howdy...I am getting lots of extra petting and loving now so I guess I can take the bad with the good.  That is what us sheepies are all about...always looking for something to be happy about.

Wordless Wednesday...Sleepy Head

Can't you see that I was asleep???

Training, Grooming and the Vet...Oh My!

Can a day get anymore dramatic for a pup like me?  First...mommy and daddy took me to my 3rd training class this morning.  I have to admit, I am starting to warm up to some of my classmates.  One of my cool new friends is named Remo.  He is a Great Dane and I am pretty sure he will be a big dog like me...probably even bigger.

Remo and his daddy

I am really starting to break out of my shell as you can see in the picture below and I have the "sitting command" pretty much figured out.  I like to sit.  I like to simply sit and watch the other dogs going crazy.

Ok, so you get a sense that training is going well and it is not as stressful as it was to me on day one.  Next week is my final puppy class and, if all goes well, I will be receiving my "puppy good manners" certificate at the end of the class.

So, we leave class and head to a nice little park area where mommy and daddy let me out of the car for a bit to walk around, poop and pee.  The day was really looking pretty good.  We got back in the car and I assumed we were headed home, but my keen sense of direction told me we were on a path that did not lead back to my bed, food and toys.  A turn here and a corner there and the next thing I knew, we were right back somewhere that I had been about 3 weeks ago that had prompted me to use every defense mechanism in my arsenal (pee on daddy, drop a poop bomb near the door's entrance etc).  You can refer back to my "Dr McDreamy" post for full details.  

This time was not as bad it seemed.  I was in and out in about 20 mins.  They took me back and weighed me again and said I was a healthy 32.5lb OES.  Dr McDreamy put some more shots in me which I was not particularly fond of, but overall, not a bad visit.  I think mommy had a worse time than me because she got back in the car and told daddy that there was a mean old coot in the waiting room that commented on my name, and not necessarily in a positive way.  I think mommy wanted to trip the poopyhead on her way out of the office.  

Anywho...things were better so I thought.  I made it back home where daddy and I headed immediately upstairs and had some quiet nap time.  life was good once again.  But then the doorbell rang.  I jumped up excited as I usually do because that usually means food being delivered or someone has come over to see me and ooooh and awww over me which I love dearly now.

Two nice people walked in and introduced themselves.  They seemed rather harmless and very friendly.  But then daddy picked me up and put me into the arms of one them and they whisked me off to some big van looking thing.  Next thing I know I am sopping wet, they got their hands in my ears, in my mouth and I am pretty sure someone got to know me well in my nether region.  Then the furious drying and obsessive brushing and this is what they made me look like...what in the world??

Well...that is how my Saturday has gone which is NOTHING like I pictured it when I woke my mommy and daddy up at 6:30am this morning.  Maybe I will play possum on Saturdays for a while and see if these things can somehow be avoided.

Wordless Wednesday...Cuddle Time

First Day at School

How many of you remember your first day at school? Raise your paw if you do.  Well mine was just this past Saturday.  Mommy and daddy tried to get me excited about it all but I was a bit unsure.

I am starting to put some pieces together; getting in the car does not always mean we are headed to the park.

So we arrive at this new place in Nashville that I will also refer to as "a den of terror."  I am herded inside where I am greeted by this very outgoing little dog named Copper.  He seemed harmless enough and I thought I must be assigned to a small class for the gifted and talented puppies.  But then I am carried by daddy down to this other area where all "you know what" breaks lose.

Puppies everywhere!!  Some liked the front of me...others seemed to want to know what my fluffy butt smelled like.  How rude!  It was obvious that some in the class were not that gifted so now I am realizing I am in this class with ALL of these pups.  UGH!  Quiet place...take me to my quiet place.

Mommy and daddy kept trying to encourage me to play with the other pups, but I was having none of it.  So daddy makes this video to show how my first day really went...in a nutshell.

To be continued...

My New Pen Pal

Yes...that's right.  I have my first pen pal buddy.  He is a shaggy sheepdog just like me.  My daddy says I am too young to get too serious so we are just buddies.  But he is soooo cute!  And I hope he takes this the right way, but he also has a very nice tail. Woooof!!

His name is Boots and he lives in the UK so I call him my "mate."  Mommy and daddy had two other OES's for a long time and it broke their heart when they lost them to old age.  It has been over three years since they lost Belvedere and 4 since they lost Lady Abigail.  I think it took this long for their heart to heal.  Boots and his loving spirit showed them it was time for me so thank you Boots ole buddy! :)

This is a picture of him in his dapper scarf.  Isn't he something?

I think you should check out his Facebook page and also follow him on Twitter.  He and I tweet each other now.  If I could text...I would be doing that too, but daddy says it is too expensive.  Here is his info so you can follow along on his journey as well.

Boots Facebook Page
Boots Twitter Account

Did I mention that he is a show dog as well??  Yep...I have good taste in furry friends. :)

Meet Mommy and Daddy

I feel like I need to give a brief description of who my mommy and daddy are.

Most of you have already seen a picture of my daddy.  This is the picture of him that I posted a few days ago.  This is the "pre me peeing on his thigh" photo.

Had he known what was coming, he might have decided to not pick me up and put me in his lap.  But hindsight is 20/20.  Daddy works from home in a travel business (from what I have overheard) which means he gets to be with me most of the day.  I think he had a nice office set up upstairs in my new home, but my desire to lay on the cool hardwood floors has convinced him to move his office to the kitchen table.  He is a bit of complainer because I keep hearing him tell mommy that his butt hurts from sitting on the hard kitchen chairs all day.  He also tells me to "shoosh" when the phone rings, but little does he know that I don't have a clue what "shoosh" means.

But don't I look much happier down here than I would be laying around in his nice carpeted office?

Mommy is a sweetheart.  She was the one cuddling me and telling me it was all going to be ok once I entered the den of terror (i.e. the Vet's office).  This is her doing what she does best...giving me love and attention.

Mommy has a job outside the home and has to leave me for a long time.  It saddens me to see her leave everyday.  

But you should see me when she returns.  I let her know, without any doubt, how much I have missed her.  She lets me hang out with her in the mornings in the bathroom while she is getting ready for work.  I know she must be very smart.  She dresses fancy for her job compared to my daddy.  That is all I am going to say about that.

Well...that is them in a nutshell.  Daddy does most of the typing for me so far because naturally I do not know how to type.  Not yet anyways.  Mommy and Daddy are taking me to some sort of training class this weekend.  I am hoping it offers typing lessons.  Not sure what else will be included, but that may be what I post next.  So stay tuned...

Let's Talk Toys

Hello my fellow furry friends!

Let's chat about toys.  I have only been prancing around on this thing they call planet earth for about 13 1/2 weeks now.  In that short amount of time, I have already discovered that I like to chew, chase and toss certain things about.  Mommy and daddy refer to them as my toys.  In fact, the phrase in which I hear that word the most is, "No Maude..No!  Chew on this instead.  It's your toy."  Ok...still not sure what all that means, but these things called toys are pretty fun.  I have a bunch and they seem to be scattered all over this big ole house.  

I say all of that to say...I find myself being drawn to 3 toys in particular.  I run upstairs to this area that they are trying to keep me in for "playtime" and I usually run first for this one.

It should be obvious by the picture that I tend to give this toy the business.  Cool thing is that mommy and daddy even toss up across the room and allow me to pounce on it as if it is a neighborhood cat.  No offense to anyone who might be a cat.  But again...I have this weird desire to chase or bark at one.  No idea where that is coming from.  Nevertheless, I digress.  This hairy ball is for sure a fav of mine.

The next one I usually try to pounce on is this one.

My aunt Kelli and cousin Buster got this one for me.  I have tried and tried to get to it's insides (I know that makes me look like a meanie, but come on, its a toy).  It is a tough little piggy.  So usually I resort to chomping and chewing on its tail.  Do you notice that there is not much of a tail left. Teehee!

And the third one that has become my "downstairs toy" is this one.

My new friend Jenn brought this to me.  She is a very nice friend of mommy and daddy's.  At first I thought...yay a pink one!  Then I thought...what is it and what I am supposed to do with it?  Mommy waisted a lot of peanut butter trying to get me to play with it, but honestly, she was just wasting my daddy's favorite lunch condiment.  It is rubbery and...BOUNCY!  I can pick it up and toss it all by myself and then go chase it all by myself.  I treat it like a small varmint and sneak up on it and then POUNCE!!  Can you tell that I like to pounce??

Well...those are my fav toys so far.  Just wanted to share that with you.  What are some of yours?  Maybe I can get mommy and daddy to go out and spend some more money and buy me one or two...or three or four. :)

Oh...and here is a picture I took after I convinced daddy to let me up on the bed.  Then the goofball photo bombed me.  I will be more careful the next time.

Meeting Dr "McDreamy"

Guess I should share an experience I had just this past Friday.  Mommy told me that it was time to meet the man that would be making sure I grow up to be big and healthy.  She said his name is Dr Fly, but I heard her tell someone else that she thinks he is also Dr "McDreamy."  At first I had no idea what that meant.  But then he walked into the room at his office and wowser, I now know what mommy was saying.

But before I get into that, I guess I should back up and tell you about a little incident that took place a few moments before that.  Ok...don't judge, but it was my very first visit to what they call a "Vet's office."  Something inside me told me to be scared as soon as I heard those 2 words.  Not sure why, but it did.  So mommy and daddy loaded me in the car and I immediately got excited.  Again...for some reason, I thought the car meant we were headed to the nearest park so I could romp about and play.

But imagine my surprise when we pulled into a parking lot and there was this scary looking brick building with other dogs coming out wearing funny things on their heads or some looking like their butts had been prodded and stuck. I knew right away, this was not going to be a fun place for me. So mommy and daddy had to pick me up and carry me in because I refused to voluntarily cross the threshold and enter the den of terror.

Daddy tried to comfort me and tell me it was going to be ok, but that had no effect.  I tried to let them know of my disapproval immediately by dropping a small poopie on the floor as soon as we entered.  I thought for sure that at least mommy would be horrified and embarrassed enough to turn around and take me home. But no!  So then I felt I had to try another approach and hide under some chairs.  Maybe out of sight out of mind?  But no!  Some straggly-haired mutt gave away my location after he came into the same room I was in.  He looked upset from something that had taken place behind another set of doors and I felt like he was just taking out on me by sniffing under the chair and making everyone else look at me.  I gave him a verbal "what-for" but by then it was too late.  Daddy grabbed me and set me on his lap.

Well...I was running out of defensive options.  Daddy was doing a pretty good job of trying to calm me down.  But then the last straw happened.  Some really chatty guy (even more chatty than my daddy) kept looking at me and asking questions about me and then made an aggressive move to try to touch me.  The nerve! Well that was it.  The only option left in my arsenal was to do something that I was positive would get me a quick ticket out of there and back home where I could run to the safety of my crate.

As the man touched my nose, I slowly started to pee-pee on my daddy's leg.  It took daddy a minute, but I soon heard him tell mommy, "My leg is warm, I think she just peed."  You were right daddy...I peed on your leg, now get me home!

But again...NO!!  I was in shock.  I thought that there would be no way he would want to stick around now that his thigh was soaked in puppy pee.  But he and mommy were determined to get me in to see Dr Fly.  I think it was just so mommy could get a peak at the good Dr again.  I tried two more times.  Daddy stood up to carry me through the set of even scarier doors and I tried again my drizzling some pee down the front of his sweater.  Didn't work.  He then handed me to a stranger who took me away for a moment and sat me down on some cold metal looking thing and then made some comment about my weight.  How rude!  So I decided to let her have it too and I peed down the front of her scrubs.  I knew I wasn't going home anytime soon so I honestly was doing that just to show how unhappy I was.

So that is really my story.  To sum it up, Dr Fly came in.  He has really nice hands, if you know what I mean.  He was cuter than I had pictured.  Overall everyone was very nice to me, but how was I to know that ahead of time?

And I learned a valuable lesson.  Never pee on the person who you then have to ride home with in the car.  Daddy stunk!